The closer Ritter drew to the Flower Capital, the heavier his mood became.
The river flowing into the city glittered as though it were clear, but with a single glance Ritter knew the truth. The water was poisoned, unfit even for the most desperate to drink.
Factories loomed across the horizon, their chimneys spewing thick black smoke that blotted out the sun. The land was already taking on the grotesque shape of what the world would later know as Wano polluted, suffocated, and hollow.
As Ritter's group entered the capital, they saw the crowd gathered at the city center. High above them stood a platform, and on it… Kozuki Oden.
Stripped bare save for a ragged cloth tied at his waist, Oden twisted and jerked to the rhythm of a mocking tune. The spectacle drew laughter, jeers, and pointing fingers. Yet Oden wore an exaggerated grin, as though he had accepted his role in this cruel farce.
Ritter's pupils contracted violently. Blood-mist seeped from his skin like a curse unbound, and in an instant the air around him froze to bone-piercing cold.
Beside him, Whitebeard's jaw clenched, veins bulging across the back of his hand as he tightened his grip on Cong Yunche.
"This is supposed to be Kozuki Oden?" Tesoro muttered in disbelief, his brows furrowing. "The legendary samurai?"
"Samurai?" Ritter's laugh was low and venomous, his tone enough to chill the heart. "What I see is a clown."
He had known this moment was coming. He had watched the tale unfold in the "original story," prepared himself for Oden's humiliation. But seeing it here, breathing in the jeers of the mob and the grotesque dance of the so-called "hero," was an entirely different wound.
Perona floated up, hiding her eyes with both hands. "Ugh! This is so humiliating!"
"Gecko Moria," Ritter's voice was flat, cold, "take Perona and Laboon. Find somewhere safe. Keep them away from this filth."
Moria gave Oden a glance half pity, half disgust then silently obeyed, shepherding the two small ones out of sight.
Ritter said nothing more. His footsteps carried him forward, blood-mist pouring from him like a rising tide, smothering the platform. The crowd panicked and scattered.
"Monsters! Monsters!"
"Run for your lives!"
"Send word to Shogun Orochi!"
Oden froze mid-dance, frowning as the haze crept around him. His eyes narrowed. He seemed to recognize the storm that approached.
"Oden " Ritter's voice boomed from the mist, cold, suffocating, and sharp enough to cut. "You've shown me more than I ever wanted to see."
Oden faltered, guilt flashing across his painted smile. "Ah… Ritter? What brings you here? Care to share a drink at my estate?"
"You want to know why I'm here?" Ritter emerged from the crimson fog, eyes ablaze with fury. "I came to see how the 'legendary samurai' of the Roger Pirates grovels like a beaten cur. How he lets himself be paraded like a circus act."
Before Oden could respond, Ritter's fist crashed into his face. The blow shattered the platform, sending Oden sprawling in blood and splinters.
Oden staggered back to his feet, blood trickling from his lip, still trying to smile. "Ritter… let me explain "
"Explain?" Ritter's figure blurred, reappearing at his side with a vicious kick that folded Oden to the ground. "Explain why you swallowed Kaido's lies like a fool? Explain why you've smeared the name of the Roger Pirates in the mud?"
Panting, Oden wiped the blood from his mouth. "I did it for Wano's people. If I endure, just a little longer, Kaido will "
"Bullshit!" Ritter's roar cracked like thunder. Blood-mist solidified into countless blades, circling Oden like a cage of death. "Kaido? Keep his word? You've deluded yourself, Oden. And you've disgraced everything you once stood for."
His hand dropped slightly, and the mist surged. "Today, if you crawl away alive, consider it mercy."
The fog exploded, chains of blood snapping tight around Oden's limbs and neck. Ritter dragged him from his feet and drove a knee into his gut.
Oden gagged, bile spilling from his mouth. Before he could recover, two massive hands of blood closed around his throat, hoisting him skyward.
"For the people?" Ritter's words dripped venom. He flicked his hand, and phantom samurai forged from mist lunged forward, their swords piercing Oden's flesh only to vanish upon contact. "You call this protection?"
Each word drove a new blade through him.
"Dancing naked… saving the people… how noble of you " stab
"Trusting Orochi " stab
"Letting Kaido poison the land " stab
"And worst of all, you stained the name of the Roger Pirates!" stabstabstab
Oden's body hung crucified on a rack of scarlet blades. All around him, Ritter's doppelgängers drove their swords in with each syllable, never striking true death, but leaving pain deep enough to scar the soul.
Even the Whitebeard Pirates shuddered. They had seen Ritter's wrath before, but this savagery was another beast entirely.
"Pathetic," Ritter hissed, suddenly materializing before Oden, his finger pressing into his chest. "Two pirate crews, dozens of loyal retainers don't you dare tell me you were 'outnumbered.'"
Black Tide, his greatsword, slid from its sheath. With a roar, Ritter drove the blade clean through Oden's shoulder, nailing him to the platform.
Blood geysered across the wood, and at last Oden screamed.
"Now you feel pain?" Ritter tilted his head, voice mocking.
Suddenly, Hyogoro the Flower appeared, blade flashing toward Ritter. "Let Oden go!"
Ritter didn't even turn.
Whitebeard's blade intercepted Hyogoro's, the clash cracking the air. "Stay out of this! This is family business!"
The force hurled Hyogoro away. Whitebeard, merciful despite his rage, had held back enough to spare his life.
"Now… let's continue." Ritter yanked his sword free, hacking a lock of Oden's hair. "I hear you like to dance?"
The mist shimmered, birthing nine illusions of Oden, each one gyrating in grotesque mimicry of his earlier performance.
"Stop!" Oden's eyes bulged with rage and humiliation.
"What, too much for you now?" Ritter ground his heel onto Oden's swords. The blood-mist shifted again, painting visions across the air: rivers choked with filth, children with hollow cheeks and empty eyes. "Look at them! Look at Wano! You call yourself its lord?"
With one last strike, Ritter's fist blasted into Oden's stomach, pulverizing the buildings behind him. When the dust cleared, Oden dangled in Ritter's grip, Black Tide's blade poised at his throat.
"You have three seconds," Ritter snarled.
"Stand up and cut Kaido down "
"Or I'll purge Roger's crew of its shame myself."
"Stop! Don't hurt our father!"
Two tiny figures burst onto the stage, arms outstretched. Hiyori and her younger brother, Izumi, shielded Oden with their small bodies.
Hiyori's eyes brimmed with tears, while Izumi bit his lip, glaring up at Ritter with trembling defiance.
Ritter's blade stilled.
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